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The Forest of Dean Area

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The Forest of Dean Area Editors Notes As I write this, the daffodil buds are just opening, and the accompanying bird song seems to be a definite harbinger of News spring! So we can at least imagine some months of warm sunshine to come! It is therefore time to think about the April 2011 Society’s spring and summer excursions and trips. You will find full details elsewhere in this edition, together with book- ing forms. In particular, any of you who have the germ of an idea for a research project, but have never used the splendid resources of Gloucestershire Archives might wish to consid- Editor: er joining the ‘Tour’ to the Archives on May 14th. Keith Walker 51 Lancaster Drive Sadly we have to record the recent passing of Dr. Margaret Lydney Barton. Margaret was a long standing member of the Socie- GL15 5SJ ty, past Vice Chair and a hard working member of the Com- mittee. She was also a past Chair of the Committee of the Friends of the Dean Heritage Centre. Margaret studied medi- cine at Girton College, Cambridge from 1945-1948. Her fa- Hon. Sec: ther was a pharmacist and optician in Cinderford, and Mary Sullivan Margaret wrote a memorable article for Issue 17 of the New Forge House Regard about her father’s work in Cinderford. In her later Forge Hill years Margaret lived in Staunton, where she served as clerk Lydbrook GL17 9QS to the Parish Council, before latterly moving to a retirement 01594 860197 home in Caerleon. I have a confession to make at this point. Being a user of the internet, I frequently forget that many members do not have access to the internet, and therefore cannot download forms from our website. In order that members without internet ac- Website: cess can take advantage of members prices for our ‘Special Offers’ (see the back page), a ‘members only’ order form has been included with this issue. Finally, I would like to commend to you the work that our Secretary, Mary Sullivan, has been doing to foster greater Registered Charity cooperation between the various history societies and archae- No: 1094700 ological groups in the Forest of Dean area. There is a meet- ing of interested societies in April, and we will report progress to you in the next edition of the newsletter. Designed by Keith Walker Printed by Hanley Court Design and Print Book your Summer Trips! A school log book was the headmaster's record of activities within the school and log books were There is a rare opportunity available on Saturday 14th May (10 obliged to be kept from 1862. Although they were am) to join a ‘Guided tour of Gloucestershire Archives’. supposed to refrain from making personal com- Following an introductory talk on the work of the Archives ments, correspondents often wrote the entries in a (with a cup of coffee!), you will be taken on a guided tour and log book as they would a personal diary. shown parts of the Archive not normally seen by the public. The tour will conclude with a viewing of Forest of Dean specific ar- This team research project is a development arising from a personal micro study undertak- tefacts and documents especially made available for the visit. en by Don Dickson, FACHRS member, in 1998 to study the usefulness of School Log If you are tempted to research a subject but have never used the Books in evaluating the impact of a local school on a community and the impact of the Archive before, or if you are simply curious about the workings community's needs on the school. The work was presented at a FACHRS conference in of the Archive, please complete the relevant form enclosed with 2005. The FACHRS organising committee considered the research and agreed to support the newsletter. Please note that you will have to make your own the project on a wider scale. A pilot project has tested the sources and methods and a full way to Gloucester and that because of building work, parking project is now underway. The project is expected to last two to three years and applications might be restricted at the Archives. to join the project are welcome from any person who would like to take part. Society members, other academic researchers, family historians and local historians are encour- There are two opportunities to join aged to take part in this project that will use a choice of the Microsoft Access (TM) data- ‘Overlooking the Wye Minibus Tours’ on base application or the Microsoft Excel(TM) workbook application to record collected Sunday 5th and 26th June. The full day tours data. A template for data collection is provided to all researchers. We are encouraging as will focus on the conservation work being car- many people as possible to take part. ried out at some of the 40 sites in the ‘Overlooking the Wye’ project. The tour is re- If you wish to take part in this project, so that details of Forest of Dean schools can be in- markable value at £15 per person, and includes cluded, you will find more information on the FACHRS web site: www.fachrs.com transport, coffee and lunch, and the services of a tour guide. There are just 14 places available on each tour, and if you are interested please com- Princess Royal Baths Get plete and return the form enclosed with this Descriptive Plaque newsletter. You may remember the long and ultimately On Saturday 2nd July, the Fairford History Soci- unsuccessful campaign that our tireless ety are hosting the ‘GRCC Local History Com- Conservation Officer, Averil Kear, fought mittee Summer Meeting’. History Societies in to try and prevent the Princess Royal col- Gloucestershire take turns to host these meetings, liery pithead baths from being demolished. and you may remember that the FODLHS hosted the Summer Meeting a few years ago with an Despite all her efforts, unfortunately, most event at Lydney Park. of the bath buildings were demolished in The meeting in Fairford offers the chance to 2008, leaving just a small part of the structure as a bat roost. Finally, earlier this year, view the remarkable 28 windows of medieval the soon to be defunct South West Regional Development Agency erected a plinth and stained glass that St Mary’s Church is famous plaque commemorating the baths. for. There are two other tours available in Fairford on the day; ‘A Heritage Walk around the Averil Kear has taken a look at the plaque and comments “Having conferred with Ron Town’, and ‘New Life from an Old School’ (how Farmors School, opened in 1738, was Beard, Ian Pope, and John Belcher (one of the Trustees of the Dean Heritage Museum) reborn into a 21st century building). we are all agreed that the wording on the plinth at Princess Royal is rather generalised Tea and refreshments will be available in the Community Centre after the tours, where you and does not really reflect Princess Royal colliery in particular. Hopefully in the can meet members of Fairford History Society. future we may be able correct this, meanwhile at least there is a reminder of one more of Full details including costs, parking etc are available in the enclosed booking form. our pits lost to redevelopment”. Monuments and Plaques In the footsteps of F. W. Harvey on the Western Front In this occasional series ‘Monuments & Our new Indoor Meetings Secretary, David Harrison, was for Plaques’, we will rediscover the memorials nearly ten years Chairman of the Western Front Association for placed in the Forest area by the History Society, Surrey, and is a qualified driver/tour operator. and explain some of the background to the mon- uments. David still organises tours to the battlefields, and in the Spring/early Summer of 2012 he is proposing to organise a pil- We start in this issue with the Mushet memorial, grimage to battlefield scenes in Belgium and France associated erected at Darkhill. with the British involvement in The Great War,1914-18. Robert Forester Mushet (1811–1891) was a met- allurgist and businessman, born April 8, 1811, in Following in the footsteps of F. W. Harvey, other Foresters, and Coleford. He was the youngest son of David men from Gloucestershire, the means of transport will be a fully Mushet. David, was an iron master, formerly of insured 16 seat mini bus, travelling via Euro Tunnel, which the Clyde, Alfreton and Whitecliff Ironworks. will pick up and return travellers in the Forest. Accommodation will be half – board in a In 1818/9 David Mushet built a foundry at hotel Campanile or its equivalent. The trip will be fully guided, with appropriate handouts Darkhill. Robert spent his early years studying and maps. Approximate cost at today’s prices is £350/£400 for a two night / three day or metallurgy with his father and took over the three night / four day trip. management of Darkhill in 1845. Before proceeding any further, David needs to know if you are interested in seeing a de- In 1848 he moved to the newly constructed Forest Steel Works on the edge of the tailed itinerary. If so, please telephone, or email, as below, leaving your name, address and Darkhill site where he carried out many experiments, in the next ten years, before mov- telephone number and the details will be posted to you, assuming sufficient interest is ing to the Titanic Steelworks in 1862. shown. The memorial at Darkhill (above) commemorates the work David Mushet undertook to produce durable steel rails. At Derby Station the Midland Railway had consistently ex- David Harrison 01600 772849 email: [email protected] perienced problems with iron rails.
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